cold computer-not switching on!

macman

There's a lot of difference between a climate chamber and and a living room. A living room might be between say a low of 15C and a peak of 25C. Obviously if it's been left for days in an unheated unoccupied house it could be lower, but as far as we know that is not the case here. If it's so cold in the room as to cause electrical failure, then it's unlikely that the OP will want to use the PC in that room anyway.

Basil1234

macman wrote: »

There's a lot of difference between a climate chamber and and a living room. A living room might be between say a low of 15C and a peak of 25C. Obviously if it's been left for days in an unheated unoccupied house it could be lower, but as far as we know that is not the case here. If it's so cold in the room as to cause electrical failure, then it's unlikely that the OP will want to use the PC in that room anyway.

yes agreed there is alot of differance between a climate chamber and a room but and here comes the but, cold has made chips fallen over before now also a dry solder joint can become an issue in the cold also i know this for i was the rework test tech that had to find faults and repair them wether that was faulty joint or faulty chips or faulty tracks within boards and repair them under mircoscopes i did this professionally for a living for ten years so i would like to think i have a reasonable idea here. all im suggesting rather than just replace the psu straight away is put it in another room for a few days so it has warmed up a bit and then see if is still failing if it is then change psu, because if he buys it and then the same problem occurs he just wasted money and time and still haves another issue and if this is the case what would be your next suggestion change motherboard/ram/cpu/harddrive? or would you suggest using hirens and test first and then change bits or just straight change bits one by one till it works first of all?

clockworks_2

If it is the PSU , open your tower check what what you have eg 300w, 250w etc and buy the same one from ebuyer as someone has posted, very simple to change and i'm not super techy.

SLITHER99

The thing about a faulty PSU is if you keep tarting around with it you will sooner or later damage the motherboard.

The ICs on any board will have been tested to be complient with manufacturer environments. Not only temp, but pressures, altitudes, etc. Most common consumer componants should be operable as low as -16deg. I know the firm I work for demands -20 through 62 deg C ambient temperatures and they do! And more! But that's just the tip of the iceberg (pun)

In PCs and most modern high-end entertainment products, the biggest issue to do with soldering quality is the solder itself and RoHS compliancy. Modern gear operates at high internal temperatures and the biggest failure is metal fatigue which causes chip creep. Ever heard of the Xbox RRoD? Bingo!

But having said all that, I would doubt very much the OP is going to crack out the solder iron and check the ol' flows! If they don't have anyone to turn to who can hook up a spare and test it, it's either buy a new one or pay to get it tested. Although if the PC is running a 200w PSU as someone said, I'd bet it's old and creaky anyway. Time for new?

rabialiones

thanks to all the posters and info provided.
my pc is 7 years old now, although it has worked quite well up until now, i have never really had a problem with it.
it is positioned near a window and an outside wall, so it could be cold/condensation causing the problem, as i have found that when i have placed the unit near to a heat source, it seems to switch on quicker after it has heated up.
i will change its position and see how i go on, if the problem persists then i will probably consider changing psu.
thanks again

BarGin

clockworks wrote: »

sounds like a dodgy PSU to me too. I had a shuttle PC that had the same problem. I would have to press the power button for ages before it would turn on , changed the PSU and all sorted. I very much doubt the cold weather has anything to do it with it.

We have a Shuttle PC at work with this problem. Press the power button once and it can be a couple of hours later before it will eventually start. We leave it on all the time now as replacement PSUs are rare (and expensive) for this model now.

rabialiones

BarGin wrote: »

We have a Shuttle PC at work with this problem. Press the power button once and it can be a couple of hours later before it will eventually start. We leave it on all the time now as replacement PSUs are rare (and expensive) for this model now.[/QUl

i dont mind leaving it on all day, but i dont like to leave it on during night- for safety and cost reasons